1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sterilizing test pack which can check a sterilization effect when a medical device required to be sterilized (or a device sterilized) is housed in a sterilizer and is subjected to sterilization treatment such as high-temperature high-pressure steam sterilization (hereinafter, called autoclave sterilization) or ethylene oxide gas sterilization (hereinafter, called EOG sterilization) by equipment sterilizing the medical device by replacing air in the chamber of the sterilizer with other gas. More specifically, the present invention relates to an endoscope sterilizing test pack corresponding to an endoscope and checking a sterilization effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
A medical device required to be sterilized (hereinafter, called a device sterilized) is typically housed in a sterilizer to be sterilized. As sterilization treatment methods, autoclave sterilization and EOG sterilization treatments have been mainstream.
Such sterilization treatment such as autoclave sterilization and EOG sterilization generally checks whether or not a sterilization effect of sterilization treatment has been sufficiently obtained.
There is a known conventional sterilization effect checking method in such a manner that when a device sterilized is sterilized by autoclave sterilization or EOG sterilization, a tape-like chemical indicator (CI) is stuck on the device sterilized or a sheet-like chemical indicator or biological indicator (BI) is inserted into an object to be sterilized.
A so-called test pack checking a sterilization effect by inserting the above-described sheet-like chemical indicator or biological indicator into the object to be sterilized has been practically used. Such test pack is constructed for autoclave sterilization and EOG sterilization or for the Bowie & Dick test conducted for checking the presence or absence of residual air in a vacuum high-pressure steam sterilizer.
Conventional techniques related with such a test pack are described, for example, in JP-A No. 5-253277 (KOKAI) and JP-A No. 2001-526399 (KOHYO).
The test pack described in JP-A No. 5-253277 (KOKAI) has a bundle of layers, porous test sheets folded to maintain integrity and positioned between the layers of the bundle and on which a steam sensitivity indicator ink is printed, plural selectable porous layers in the bundle, and at least a set of nonporous gas impermeable layers with a predetermined efficiency arranged between the porous test sheets to be separated by at least one porous layer and separated by at least one and the two porous layers.
The testing device described in JP-A No. 2001-526399 (KOHYO) has a tube made of a thermal insulating material and having a cavity defining a free space in such a manner that one end is opened for admitting a sterilizing agent and the other end is closed, and a heat absorption unit surrounding the tube, the heat absorption unit preferentially receiving heat from the cavity of the tube during use of the device in a sterilizer sodas to prevent penetration of the sterilizing agent along the cavity of the tube in the sterilization cycle by accumulated air and/or condensable gas in the free space caused by concentration on the wall of the cavity.